The number of people who die as a result of malaria reduced by more than half in Africa between 2000 and 2013, according to a new report published by the World Health Organisation.

The same report says mortality reduced by 5 percent between 2012 and last year, indicating that global and national efforts to combat the mainly tropical disease were effective.

There were about 198 million cases of malaria globally in 2013 and an estimated 584,000 deaths, and most of them occur among children living in Africa where a child dies every minute from the disease. Malaria mortality rates among children in Africa have been reduced by an estimated 58 percent since 2000.

"Mortality globally, fell by 47 percent between 2000 and 2013, a slight increase from 42 percent between 2000 and 2012,” the report says.  Local efforts

According to Dr Corine Karema, the head of malaria and other parasitic diseases at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), efforts are under way to eliminate malaria by 2018. 

So far, around 83 per cent of Rwandan households have treated mosquito nets. The government targets at least one mosquito net per two people.

"The supply of mosquito nets used to be done once in three years but it will now be done every two years because we found out that in three years, a mosquito net has already lost its efficacy,” she said.

Malaria transmission in Rwanda occurs year-round with two peaks from May to June and November to December.

The RBC has classified 19 of the country’s 30 districts as malaria endemic and the remaining 11 as epidemic-prone.

Karema said indoor residual spraying had already started in Bugesera, Nyagatare and Gisagara districts which have the highest incidence of malaria in the country.

"We will put more efforts in behaviour change communication to sensitise the public about the importance of mosquito nets in the fight against malaria, indoor residual spraying and rapid treatment of all malaria cases,” she noted. 

Community case management is also empowered to respond to malaria treatment within 24 hours of onset of symptoms, especially for children under five.

"Malaria comes as the fourth killer disease in Rwanda after Neonatal illness, Pneumopathies and Cardio-vascular diseases,” noted Austin Kagande, the director of Movic, an infectious diseases’ research organisation based in Kigali.

The number of children under five years getting appropriate treatment within 24 hours rose to 96 percent in 2013 since 2009.

In 2013, around 900,000 cases of malaria were diagnosed. Of these, 409 died, with 30 percent of them being children under five.

"Between 2006 and 2011, Rwanda’s health management information system reported an 86 per cent reduction in malaria incidence, an 87 per cent reduction in malaria morbidity, a 74 per cent reduction in malaria mortality, and a 71 per cent reduction in malaria test positivity rate,” said Peter Malnak, USAID Director Rwanda, a crucial partner of government in the fight against malaria, in a recent interview.

Between 2005 to 2012, malaria incidence declined by 74 percent, out-patient malaria cases by 71 percent; and in in-patient malaria deaths declined by 68 percent.

The malaria burden in Rwanda has transitioned from a nationwide distribution of the disease to a focal problem mostly in few high malaria burden districts along the border in the Eastern and Southern provinces.

Approximately half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria. Most malaria cases and deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. However, Asia, Latin America, and to a lesser extent the Middle East and parts of Europe are also affected. In 2014, 97 countries and territories had ongoing malaria transmission.